Timeline

I’ve been using iWeb to make the new loganheftel.com. I’m not really happy with the limitations (or the results) but it has been fun, in a helpless sort of way. Not having a music player is one of the worst parts. I’m just linking to my sonicbids page for now.

I first bought the domain name in 2003 or 2004. Joey Mornin built my first site. It had awesome php forms for me to use to update the shows and mail contacts. Joey, those were fun times. I wish I had screen shots of the olden day site. I would put it up again. I’m pretty much stuck in 2004 anyway.

My website has lived through a few incarnations since that first one. A few years ago, in the process of leaving a bad web host, loganheftel.com was sold to some scamming company and I didn’t have it for about a year. The bad web host had refused to give me the authorization code when I refused to renew. The domain went public and when I went to get it, it was not available. I was soon contacted by the buyers and they wanted me to pay about $3000 to get it back. I bought the .net and told them good luck finding another buyer. (Anyone know another Logan Heftel? I think I’m the only one on Earth.)

After months of unsuccessful haggling, they apparently sold it to a similar company who made first contact with an innocent approach: “We see you own the .NET, how would you like to increase your business by owning the more credible .COM?” They even had a bullet point list of reasons why it is advantageous to have a .com rather than a .net, as though I had originally sought out a .net site. They wanted only $300 for my name dot com.

I took an idea from a beautifully short-lived Comedy Central show called “Con” with Skyler Stone. I replied with an email explaining that what they were doing was ILLEGAL (repeated bold and capitalized a few times throughout) and I CC’d a lawyer whose name and address I found on Google. I did end up paying them a little bit, but it was much closer to what a new domain name actually costs.

After getting the name back, it has existed only to redirect. First to an Electronic Press Kit hosted by moreorlessmyself.com. After that fell through, I redirected the name to myspace for longer than I care to admit. Now it redirects to the iWeb site. All the while the old EPK is still at the top of the search engines. I have a lot of work to do. I like that EPK a lot, and I hope it can be updated and turned into something again. But if not, I am still trying to improve the iWeb-do-it-myself approach until a better option is possible.

I’m open to suggestions if you are.

I just wanted to share my frustration with you. This was a little while ago. I’m still disappointed I missed the show.

Happy Friday.

I had one of those rare nights last night.

Without fail, and only when necessary, I have, here and there, managed to land in perfect moments. They are fuel to navigate the inevitable imperfect stretches of time that follow.

After last night, bring on the madness.

My brother Brannon is coming home. I have not seen him in two years. I’m coming back to Spokane to greet him off the plane. I’m also playing a show in Spokane for the first time in one year. I can’t wait to come home and catch up with Brannon, catch up with Spokane, and maybe figure some things out.

Onward, ever onward, you are always free to go.

Forward, pressing forward, bringing what you care to know.

Yesterday I witnessed my first Tea Party rally.  I now know less about the Tea Party than I did before.  I’m pretty sure they do too.

Also, I got a sunburn for America.

I’ll remember today no better next week than I’ll remember tomorrow next year.

Sad how little I retain.

Makes it difficult to meet myself in real life.

For me, 2009 was a year of good ideas, great intentions, unbelievable experiences, and no direction.

So far 2010 has been worth every minute. I’m not going to blog every day, but I’m not going to abandon another well-intentioned idea. I’ll check in with the world as necessary.

Since I last wrote I’ve relearned much of what I thought I knew about life and death. It’s so necessary to be reminded of simple things. I’m trying to pay attention.

I hope you’re having a good day.

I’ve reached the three week mark, and according to Ben Franklin I am now a habitual blogger.

I actually kind of like of taking the time to post something every day, even though it can’t always be interesting.  I’m going to be traveling the next couple weeks and though I’ll do my best to post often I probably won’t be hitting the every-day mark while I’m gone. We’ll see what happens though.

Farewell America.

For some reason I was thinking about the time I saw Eric Johnson perform at the Big Easy in Spokane, Washington.  It was probably around 2003.  He switched between acoustic guitar and a grand piano.  I think he played solo the whole time.

What stuck out to me was his rendition of “Kathy’s Song” by Simon and Garfunkel.  I wish I had a recording of that night.  There’s a version of him performing it in 1990 on YouTube, but it’s not as good as my memory of what I saw live.

I went with my brother Brannon and we sat up in the balcony because the floor was serving alcohol.  Usually at that venue it was the other way around, with the floor being all ages.  At first we felt cheated because we paid just as much as the old people and I thought the front was the best place to be.  By the end I was glad to have a seat with a good view of the whole room.  I think it was a turning point for me as an audience member.  I finally realized it’s not all about being up front.

This show was not the best I had ever seen at that point, and it’s certainly not the best I’ve seen since.  But it was a great show.  I don’t know why I was thinking about it.